Seizure of fake notes tip of the iceberg

KOZHIKODE: The seizure of fake currencies from the airports was made based on a secret information passed on to the DRI that a passenger was coming from Karipur Airport to Kozhikode city in a taxi car carrying fake Indian currency notes brought from Dubai for distribution in India.

TIP OF THE ICEBERG: Meanwhile, Saturday?s seizure of fake currency points at a large-scale printing of Indian currencies abroad and its wide distribution across the country.

The DRI, over a period of last six months, has seized fake currencies to the tune of Rs 2 crore from different airports.

All the seized currencies have been printed abroad and smuggled from Dubai and Colombo to India, the DRI officials say. These two cities, however, are suspected to be mere transit points and the exact place from where these fake currencies are being printed is yet to be ascertained.

The case is under investigation and attempts are on to find out the source and destination of the seized counterfeit currency notes, the DRI sources said.

The investigations have attained significance as the DRI is also probing any possible ISI link into the whole business, it has been learnt.

KERALA TARGETED?: Though most of the previous seizures were from international airports of Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore, the latest seizure from Karipur airport here has put Kerala an emerging destination of fake currencies.

It?s for the first time that a seizure of fake currency is being made from any airport in the state, DRI officials assert. The DRI, however, is already on the trail of a man hailing from Kasargod, who is now cooling his heels in Colombo jail in connection with smuggling of fake currencies.

K M Abdulla, who hails from Kasi Lane at Thalankara in Kasargod, is wanted by DRI in several other cases as well, related to smuggling of gold and drug trafficking.

Suspected to be a key link in the fake currency deal, Abdulla was caught in Colombo a couple of months back, with Indian fake currency notes worth Rs 2.5 crore.

The CBI had also been on a lookout for him in connection with the infamous Hamza murder which took place in Kasargod a decade back. Both the agencies are now trying to extradite Abdulla from Colombo, it is learnt.

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